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Insight

How to ensure your team is playing to its strengths

Jen Jeavons

Founder

11th June, 2020

3 min. read

At Pixel Palace, our team is our secret sauce! We each have a diverse range of skills that complement one another, both personally and professionally.
Our team recently took part in the Clifton Strengths assessment, to help understand and celebrate what we’re best at – both individually and collectively.

The Clifton Strengths system focuses on ‘talent DNA’, and aims to explain the ways that different people think, feel and behave naturally.

According to the experts, teams who know and consciously use their strengths are more engaged at work, more productive in their roles, and feel happier and healthier overall.

At Pixel Palace, we believe that the best teams are those who play to their strengths! Here’s how we do it:

1.Knowing and trusting one another

We place an emphasis on getting to know one another outside of the office environment. Coffee catch-ups, after-5 drinks and Zoom hangouts are part of our team culture at Pixel Palace! We believe that knowing one another better leads to trust. And no team can succeed without trust.

When teams trust one another, people feel more comfortable communicating openly, sharing ideas, and taking creative risks. Trust also keeps people accountable to each other in terms of results – which is especially important in an environment that relies on collaboration and cohesion. A team can only be its best when there’s genuine trust amongst its members.

2. Celebrating diversity

At Pixel Palace, we’re immensely proud of our team, and we acknowledge that every one of us has walked a unique path in our lives and careers. We accept and celebrate our differences, and we appreciate the real value that diversity adds to our team.

A team that genuinely celebrates diversity will respect one another as individuals – and will encourage the positive contributions that every person can make. Diverse experiences, viewpoints, knowledge and ideas can actually strengthen successful teams, and often enables more creative problem-solving and innovative results.

3. Effective communication and decision-making

At Pixel Palace, our team is in constant communication with one another. Communication sets the rhythm for our entire working day! We believe that effective communication ensures that everyone has the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings, and to ultimately do their best work.

When it comes to decision-making, we support one another in determining a course of action, and ‘back’ each other when it’s time for delivery. Teams that consistently play to their strengths will be cooperative in their approach to decision-making, and will reap the rewards together.

4. A commitment to progress

Of course, no team gets it 100% right 100% of the time. Just ask any sports team or competitive athlete! Instead, the mark of a truly great team is the ability to acknowledge and identify room for progress, and to do this cooperatively.

Team members should be empowered to deal with tensions or bottlenecks swiftly and confidently, with the goal of moving forward as one. Constructive feedback, positive language, and an ongoing commitment to excellence are hallmarks of a team that’s playing to its strengths for the long haul.

For more information about the Clifton Strengths assessment, visit this link. To get to know our team a little better – contact Pixel Palace or follow us on socials now!